The demand for low-power operation is ubiquitous in nearly every area of electronics. One obvious driver for low-power requirements is the tremendous demand for mobile consumer or business electronic devices. Most of mobile electronic devices are designed to operate on battery power, and the demand for low-power operation of mobile electronic devices increases with advanced displays, advanced wireless technology, increased storage, advanced process technology, system-on-chip (SoC) complexity, etc.
Advancing SoC power management technology is one way to extend the operating life of mobile electronic devices. For SoC power management along with power gating, the ability to control the voltage of a power island dynamically depending on real-time activity or modes is of immense importance. Digitally synthesizable low-dropout (DSLDO) regulators may provide these features up to low dropout conditions (e.g., less than 10 mV) with good power efficiency while serving high load currents.
The background description provided herein is for generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.